State Rep. Nancy Garland, Chair of the Women’s Caucus and other members of The Ohio House Women’s Democratic Caucus announced they will soon be introducing a resolution to urge Congress to take immediate action on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

“Throughout our history women have fought hard to achieve equality in education, voting rights and employment. Our progress has not come easy and although we have made substantial gains, discrimination persists,” said Rep. Garland.

The Paycheck Fairness Act was originally introduced by Democratic Senator Barbra Mikulski of Maryland along with several other co-sponsors. The legislation seeks to strengthen enforcement of regulations against sexual discrimination with regards to pay. The bill amends sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and requires employers to use qualifications such as education, training, and work experience to determine pay grades.

Rep. Garland added, “The facts are clear, women are disproportionately paid less than their male counterparts and this discrepancy is unfair. Equality among all citizens is a fundamental aspect of a strong democratic society. This is pure common sense; we must act now and do what we can to end discrimination in all forms.”

Women in the United States currently make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes for the same job. This legislation, if enacted by Congress, would allow women to seek punitive damages if evidence is found of broad differences between the compensation of male and female workers at a company. This bill would also bar companies from retaliation against women who seek to find out if there is pay disparities between them and their male counterparts.

The legislation was blocked along party lines from passing the Senate on June 5th. It is possible that the bill could be reintroduced at a later time.